The lie was on the horizon. Approaching me in plain view it was comparable to a stampede of African rhinos. Charging toward me at and exhilarating pace. Not all lies are like that of course. Most are much more crafty than that. And tend to sneak up on you. I needed a well crafted lie, like a cobra. Invisible until it struck.

“Sissy!” I turned to face little sister, running up to me as a yellow school bus disappeared around the corner. The sudden clawing guilt in my stomach reminded me. I felt the lie again, stalking me like a lioness might stalk her prey.

“Hi Jenny, how was school?” Feigning a cheerful attitude is the first step to success in a lie like this. These niceties will lower her guard. “It was great!” She exclaimed brushing away my attitude as nothing. “We learned how to greet someone in Spanish! And guess what? Michael Ying…” As we walked down our road my mind drifted away from the gossip Jenna was feeding me. When our house came into view I could see part two of my little lie unfolding. We came up to our gate. My sister fumbled about with her bag, searching for an object I knew wasn’t there. “Dang it.” She muttered, “I must have dropped our keys at the bus stop.”

“Jenna!” Pretending to be angry, as if this event was unexpected one. This was the next step in this successful lie, my lioness was growing ever closer. Add on a little more.

“I’m sorry!”

She was ashamed. That stupid shard of guilt was prodding at my stomach. I sighed in exasperation, “It’s not your fault.” Not too much now. “I’ll go get it.”

Her relieved face was my ticket out. “Thank you Sissy! I swear I won’t ever do it again!” I waved her off casually in a false bravado. Almost there. Stupid guilt. You should go back where you belong. A yellow car was waiting. A little note fluttered from my pocket. My little African truth, like evasive quicksand. The yellow car sped away and did not return.

The power of a lie is that it hides the truth. So in that way a lie is a power. A dangerous power, and though this is truth, the truth is more devastating than a lie. To lie is to hold a hurricane, to speak truly is to release it.

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